The present invention generally relates to water coolers and methods of installing water cooler bottles therein.
Water coolers are designed to dispense water contained within commercial available water cooler bottles of varying sizes. Most water coolers, when in use, require a water bottle to be located above a dispensing opening. This requires a user to lift and invert the water bottle. This can be problematic, as water cooler bottles can be heavy. Water can easily be spilled during the installation process, too.
Several solutions have been offered to these problems. For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 4,036,382 to Perry provides a bottle handling apparatus for installing a water cooler bottle in a water cooler. The water bottle is placed at the base of the apparatus, which is adjacent to a water cooler. The apparatus then lifts the bottle from floor level in an upright position, rotates the water bottle, and then lowers the inverted water bottle into a bottle receiving inlet of the water cooler.
Another solution is offered by U.S. Pat. No. 3,934,772 to Brannon, in which a pair of U-shaped rods is used to more easily secure, lift and rotate the water bottle in order to install the water bottle into a water cooler.
While conventional solutions exist, it is believed that a need remains for improvement in water coolers and methods of installing water cooler bottles. One or more aspects and features of the present invention is believed to address such continuing need.